Review by Booklist Review
In this raucous follow-up to Duck at the Door (2007), Max the duck is back in the kitchen, stirring up soup. Displeased with the flavor, he steps outside to gather more herbs. Enter animal pals Brody, Dakota, and Bebe, who spot a feather floating in the soup and jump to a horrifying conclusion: Max has fallen into the pot. The strainer! shouts Brody the dog, and the team, convinced they are rescuing their friend, pours Max's masterpiece into the sink just as Max returns. The ending, in which the animals enjoy a take-out pizza, adds more laughs, although the abrupt introduction, on the final spread, of characters from Duck at the Door will puzzle children who aren't familiar with the first story. Urbanovic creates a slapstick delight with her wildly expressive characters and expertly conveyed physical comedy. Particularly uproarious are the animals' reactions as they discard the soup and imagine, momentarily, that the potatoes, carrots, and onions are, in fact, Max. Like its best-selling predecessor, this is sure to be a read-aloud hit.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Children will anticipate that something goofy is coming by a glance at the cover art: a duck in a soup pot balancing a lid on his head. Urbanovic has created a funny story in which Max's friends mistakenly believe that he is in the soup pot. Their attempts to save him ruin his meticulously prepared soup ("`AHHHHH! It's his head!' said Bebe. `Silly! It's only a potato!' Brody replied. `EYEBALLS! His eyeballs!' said Bebe. `Guys, it's only tiny onions!' said Brody"), but reinforce the value of friendship. The softly outlined watercolor illustrations feature a loose style that gives freshness and energy to each scene. Children will laugh out loud at the antics in this story, which blends so cohesively with the large pictures.-Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Determined to create the perfect soup, Duck goes to his garden to pick some chives. Meanwhile, his friends arrive and, seeing a feather in the soup, they think Duck's fallen in. Hoping to save Duck, they dump out his masterpiece. Cheerfully busy illustrations show the animals searching frantically through the vegetables while cool-customer hound Brody--and readers--recognize their overreaction. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
